As of September 1, 2013, Russia’s Reserve Fund amounted to RUB 2.839 trillion ($85.38 billion), the National Wealth Fund totaled RUB 2.885 trillion ($86.77 billion), Russia’s Ministry of Finance informed.
In particular, the Reserve Fund’s account balances are as follows: $38.08 billion, EUR 29.4 billion, GBP 5.4 billion. From January 15 to August 31, 2013, aggregate income from the Reserve Fund deposits on foreign currency accounts with the Bank of Russia, denominated in US dollars, was estimated at $0.01 billion, which is equal to RUB 0.35 billion. From January 1 to August 31, the exchange rate difference from revaluation of these balances was RUB 239.43 billion………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Azerbaijani state oil fund SOFAZ is one of the components of the country’s oil strategy, SOFAZ Executive Director Shahmar Movsumov said at the second forum “South Caucasus in a Changing World” of the Association of Scientists for International Relations, organized by the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Azerbaijan held in Baku.
“After the country gained independence, one of the problems was the development of oil industry. The national oil strategy of Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev became a response to these challenges. As a result, it became possible to increase oil production significantly in a short time………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) has gained rich experience in the rational governance of a large amount of funds received from the extraction, processing and sale of oil and gas. It is ready to share it with its foreign counterparts, SOFAZ Executive Director Shahmar Movsumov said at the second forum “South Caucasus in a Changing World” of the Association of Scientists for Foreign Relations in Baku today, which is organized by the Centre for Strategic Studies under the Azerbaijani President.
The spending of SOFAZ’s funds are annually approved by the Azerbaijani Parliament and the Presidential Administration. “We are funding large-scale infrastructure projects in the country,” he added. “The construction of temporary settlements for refugees and IDPs, who previously lived in very poor conditions, is being financed through SOFAZ’s funds. We were able to provide more than 150,000 people with decent housing.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Less than a week before national elections, Norway’s oil minister is proposing a significant shift for the nation’s $750 billion oil-wealth fund, suggesting a separate real-estate fund with increased exposure to U.S. property be carved out amid expectations of low returns in the global bond market.
Ola Borten Moe, minister of petroleum and energy and a deputy leader of the nation’s Center Party, said that he is proposing taking 10% of the sovereign-wealth……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), administrators of the country’s Sovereign Wealth fund (NSF), which appointed Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and UBS as asset managers for its Stabilization Fund last week, has appointed Stanbic IBTC as its local custodian.
According to an official statement, the Nigerian subsidiary of South African-based Standard Bank will look after the local investment of the $1 billion fund, working closely with JP Morgan, NSIA’s global custodian………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Qatari sovereign wealth fund has reportedly gone on a hiring spree as part of an effort to become one of the market’s bigger players. The fund, which has more than $100 billion under management, has hired bankers and other financial industry executives in the past two months to diversify its investment portfolio and move assets out of their current European exposure.
A report on Reuters declared the sovereign wealth fund to have hired Ugo Arzani, most recently a managing director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London, as its new head of consumer and retail investments………………………………………..Full Article: Source

With a lack of transparency and political complications affecting the use of SWFs worldwide, it’s no wonder there are wide disparities when it comes to their correct use, writes Pierre-Emmanuel Iseux, Member of the Executive Board, La Compagnie Peter Hottinger.
Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) are government investment funds responsible for managing assets, usually with a long-term outlook. The assets under management come from many sources, but in most cases, the funds’ assets are funded by oil, gas or mining royalty income, or other trade surpluses of owner states………………………………………..Full Article: Source